Offensive Guard ~ Collin Buchanan ~ Miami RedHawks ~ 6045/315

Regarding Offensive Guards

I consider Offensive Guards far more crucial to their Teams's Prospects than most consider them to be.

The Gutters are riddled with the Corpses of Teams that were built around so-called "skill" Players ~ teams that delighted their Fantasy FootBall Fans every Year, all the way until January...until The Only Games That Really Matter.

It is then, of course, that the Capacity ~ or lack thereof ~ to Move The Chains and protect the QuarterBack against PlayOff Caliber Defenses rears its ugly head. And another Team built for Fantasy FootBall bites the dust.

This is how I break things down, when I'm evaluating Offensive Guards:

Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body Strength in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your Heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.

Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous Asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're lurching around like FrankenStein.

* Vertical Leverage. Height is crucial, but it's actually better, I believe, to be an Inch shorter than an Inch Taller.* Hands. The larger the better, generally, but compact is never a bad Attribute in The Trenches.* Arm Length. Absolutely crucial. He who boasts the longer Arms initiates Combat.* WingSpan. Arm Length + Torso Width. A more complete Measurement.

Frame: Mediocre. Very good Height for Vertical Leverage, but a marginal WingSpan.

Combat Skills: Impressive, and in every aspect: Lateral Leverage, Positioning, FootWork, and Persistence.

Processing Speed: Impressive, both deciphering Schemes in Pass Protection and finding Targets in the Running Game.

Motor:Effective Intensity and Stamina.

Run Blocking: Mediocre, due to sluggish Acceleration and Speed as well as mediocre Drive Power. He does compensate well enough to compete, though, with Effort and Intelligence, and he is also Scheme Flexible.

Pass Blocking:Exceptional. His WingSpan is a big Liability, but his Fluidity to Mirror, his Processing Speed in deciphering Defensive HornSwoggling, his Combat Skills, and his Motor are all Strengths that more than compensate.

Collin Buchanan ~ Prospectus

Heh. I love Combine and Pro Day Numbers, but Collin Buchanan is yet another reminder that we take them as Gospel at our Peril: Based on his horrific Power, Speed, and Fluidity Numbers, I wouldn't give you a 2019 Draft Pick for'm!!

But on Film, that's a very different Story.

Buchanan exhibits a startlingly well-developed Game for someone playing Division 47 FootBall, enhancing a very average Skill Set with a remarkably combination of Combat Skills and Processing Speed, a level of Refinement and of Development that I did not expect to find...and which speaks very highly of his Intelligence and Drive.

Collin Buchanan has a few Scraps of Talent and a WingSpan Liability, but a disproportionately large helping of Intelligence and Drive, which tells me that, despite his obscure Division 64 Pedigree, he has a much stronger Chance not only to survive at the next level, but to succeed than his Pedigree and his horrific Work Out Numbers suggest!!

Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!​

Yank Rank: Soldier ~ Deeper Sleeper!!

Market Value

UFA

Yankee Grade

3rd/4th Round

Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!